An American married to a former Royal Marine Commando & discovering the first years of marriage in two different countries

Everyone is talking about the Tournament of Roses Parade today, but alas, I'm at work and not watching. Thank goodness for the DVR! I LOVE parades and it doesn't much matter to me what they are celebrating. If it's a parade, I'm there (or recording it... whatever).

Don't run away, this is not about what happened during an appointment and I am fine! The following is another in a long, amusing line of 'Royal in America' stories ---

I had an appointment booked at the OB/GYN for 8:45am the other morning. Completely unrelated, I'd been sick with a pretty severe cold/sore throat and not sleeping well lately. Sometime around 7:30am I called Royal (he works nights) and asked if he would call their office at 8:00am and see if I could reschedule. If it was possible, I would get an extra hour of much-needed sleep before going to work. Being the absolute sweetheart he is, he agreed and the appointment was rescheduled for a few days later.

Then my Mom texted, then Royal texted, then the Doctor's office called (I didn't pick up) and there I was wide awake with plenty of time to make it to the appointment. I decided to call the Doc and see if they had given away my time yet. The following is my conversation with the OB/GYN nurse:

Me: Hi, this is Kathy _________.

"Oh hi! I just spoke with your husband, I hope you feel better."

Me: Thank you. I'm so sorry to mess you guys around, but have you already given away my 8:45 this morning?

"No, but I've rescheduled you for 8:45 on Thursday."

Me: Would it be possible for me to just come in this morning? I'm so sorry to do this...

"Sure, just come on in. Will he be with you?"

Me: [completely blanking] He? Um...

"Your husband, will your husband be with you?"

Me: Oh! No, he's at work .... ?

"I just love his accent!!" [honest to God, she giggled]

Me: OH! Haha. Well it's easy listening.

"Oh yes! We'll see you in a few minutes."

Me: Thank you, bye.

So. That was the day that a middle-aged OB/GYN nurse requested the presence of my young, English-English speaking husband at my OB/GYN appointment.

It's about to get a little personal up in here! I have a very, very good friend and former Royal Marine Commando that has started his own small business custom-making survival bands, animal collars, headbands and more using para cord! He was sweet enough to give me one in the early stages and I LOVE IT! Once he got a website up and running I knew I had to write about it.

The USMC Band

During the month of June, Just-In-Case is giving 20% of sales to Soldiers' Angels (you might recognize the charity as one of my favorite military organizations!)! There's even a cool graphic that he's updating to let you know what the donation is up to every day.

If you read this blog at all, you'll know I don't do this kind of post... ever. I don't ususally feel comfortable vouching for somebody or something - but I can 100% tell you that this guy is sane and his products are quality. I hope you take a look!

I was sitting alone (usual game buddy couldn't make it) mid-way up the stands cheering the guys on the field as per usual. About halfway through two little teenage girls came to sit - one row up from their family and two rows down from me. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed that one of the girls turned around to look at something and then stared at me. Then she and her friend put their heads together and giggled. Then, of course, the other girl turned to look but pretended to look past me at something really interesting. I know because I was looking right at her.

Next thing, they're saying something about a picture and I see her raise her phone - camera side facing me - to her ear! She has blonde hair. It's a shiny blue phone. Sprouting out of the side of her head the wrong way.

I almost started laughing but then I thought, that's not right - I should say something.Me (sternly): "What are y'all doing?" Her: "What? Nothing! It's my phone."Me: "It looks like you're trying to take a photo..."Her (blushing): "No. No."

They turned around and then left to walk around a few minutes later.

How's that for grown up action! I never thought I could come off as stern or call a kid out for doing something innappropriate (or even think of a teenager as a kid!). I always knew it would come when I had children of my own, but not until then!

I found out later that she's the daughter of a co-worker's girlfriend and that she was trying to sneak a picture of my shirt:

And it is an awesome shirt, I just wish she'd had the manners to ask me. I had Royal take that photo after the game and I send it along to the co-worker.

1. Milkshakes. That's milk, ice cream and chocolate (or vanilla, or mint...) - not what the UK calls milkshakes: flavored milk. Still lovely, but not quite the treat.

2. Sprinklers. Yes, sprinklers. Every Spring through Summer, without fail, we will drive through town and he will ooooh and ahhhh and gaze adoringly at the magical water shooting up gracefully from the ground. I believe they have something called "rain" in the UK which renders the sprinkler useless...

3. Waffles, pancakes and the IHOP (International House of Pancakes - open 24 hours!). It's like the guy found the promised land, I swear. He'd eat 'em for breakfast, lunch and dinner if he could! Royal never had waffles in Britain (said something about potato waffles, but apparently it's not even remotely the same) and the pancakes differ in that ours are more fluffy instead of the crêpe-like 'cakes you sometimes find in the UK.

4. The Outdoor Channel. Also known as: Shooting and hunting television. We had to purchase the more expensive satellite package so Royal could watch this one very special channel.

5. The drive thru ATM, pharmacy and the pay-at-the-pump petrol station. After living in the UK myself, all I have to say is AMEN TO THAT! Convenience at its best.

After watching the Lifetime made-for-tv-movie 'William and Kate' ** I remembered how excited I am about the upcoming Royal Wedding (da da dah!). I've always been excited about it, but not on the same level as you'll find some people are - aka OMG!!!!!1 Kate may or may not have come out of such and such store that may or may not have anything to do with the ROYAL WEDDING!!!!1!!. I happened to miss the last major Royal Wedding by two years and 42 days so there's no way I'm missing this one! Plus, like most in my generation I grew up with Wills and Harry (confession time: while everyone has always been all about how hot Prince William is, I've always been more attracted to Harry. I'm a rebel.)

Then I read this today from the Daily Mail which basically says that 9 out of 10 British women polled aren't jealous of Kate Middleton and actually, they feel sorry for her. Their reasoning was what you would expect: life will never be normal again and the blaring burning public and media spotlight. While I'm not jealous of Kate - I've got all the fairytale I could ever wish for - I would never pity her! Here's why:

1. They were friends first.2. They've been together for 10 years!3. She knows what's coming.Most importantly...4. They are IN LOVE!

Why would I feel sorry for her?! I'm truly happy for 'em both.

Also, for all you Royal Wedding haters out there: REALLY?! You've got nothing better to complain about than a happy couple taking a chance on love and happiness? Yikes, I do feel sorry for you. Not Kate, just you. Huge boost in tourism and the whole world watching -- millions of people having lovey-dovey warm fuzzy feelings about the United Kingdom -- oh it's so terrible, what can we do to stop it!?! Get a life.

** Royal and I only watched half of the movie together. He left to see a friend and I finished it alone. The next day he tells me that he watched the rest of it and though it was kinda chad, it was also pretty good. Extremely high praise coming from a hurly burly rough 'n tumble former Bootneck! So ignore the critics and watch it if you are able!

As some might know, the Irish Car Bomb is an alcoholic drink made with an Irish stout (as in Guinness), Bailey's and Irish whiskey. I'm not a drinker and don't frequent bars/pubs so I hadn't heard of it until a couple years ago. As you can see by my blog roll I like a lot of food blogs - one of which posted a recipe for Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes. This was my introduction.

I was instantly turned off by it, as were several of the author's commenters (click the link to read through). The author eventually changed the name to Chocolate Whiskey and Beer Cupcakes, but wasn't happy with the debate in her comment section.

I've read a little bit about The Troubles in Ireland and don't think it's something that should be taken lightly. Even if I wasn't familiar with The Troubles, I wouldn't use the drink name (or any subsequent desserts) because car bombs - any sort of bomb - are a very real, very frightening threat our Armed Forces and their allies face every day overseas. My husband spent an extremely tense tour in Iraq patrolling - and not a day went by that he wasn't aware of the danger.

But it's not just that. Royal and I lost a good friend and excellent Royal Marine to an explosion in Afghanistan in 2008. He was just 26 years old. I can't put into words how devastating Elmsy's death was for his family, friends and fellow Bootnecks.

Look, I know it's "just a drink" and I should "get over it" (clever, right!). I'm not calling for a universal beverage name change. I'm just putting out there - in time for St. Patrick's Day - that it's a crass, thoughtless and cruel way to order what sounds like a perfectly delicious drink.

My husband completely agrees, but I put it to my Twitter followers to see what they thought:

@nicorussell - "pretty distasteful name for a drink really"@Letters2Afghan - "over here [UK] we would never call our drinks and desserts that"@LacyinTX - "Nope, not just you. I don't like the sound of that either"@collca - "I totally agree with you"@jenlars8 - "Not just you, but I've never been to a bar that served anything named like that. Must be regional??"

Happily, no one responded in favor of the drink (proving once again, that I follow lots of awesome people on Twitter!)!

My husband has never made a s'more or, for that matter, tasted a s'more! In all his life camping, serving in the Armed Forces and knowing me... he's never gone through the rite of passage that should only ever be described as Ham describes it to Smalls in The Sandlot:

"Okay, pay attention. First, you take the graham. You stick the chocolate on the graham. Then, you roast the mallow. When the mallow's flaming then you stick it on the chocolate. Then you cover it with the other end. Then you stuff it."

Sigh. Memories.

I think I might officially be old.

But back to the point: I've excitedly scarfed down more s'mores than I'd like to admit and he's not had a one! This had to be remedied! And oh baby was it:

We got way too many supplies and ate waaay too many s'mores but it was worth it. They're actually the first food that we cooked over a flame in our new backyard - which makes it that much better.

It may be a little thing, but I'm glad I got to share this moment with him.

I was going to write a long detailed post about how much it sucks to fight underwriters on your possible home loan. But we all know that, right? I'm sure most of your stories far surpass mine in horror.

So.

WE GOT IT! We got it and have now moved into our very first home!

Here are a few photos, though of course we haven't even begun to decorate!

The back of the house - lovely red brick with a porch!

Our backyard and beyond! We've seen squirrels, cows, robins and cardinals so far.

A not-so-great phot of part of the kitchen. Yes, my Royal can eat a box of cereal in one sitting. You can't tell, but the kitchen is actually a pretty red color that we would have never picked ourselves, but just LOVE.

Our pretty things in the big kitchen cabinet. That red is pretty much the red on the other kitchen walls.

One wall of the living room. Brand new telly was my husband's favorite part of moving...

To start this saga, I'll have to go back a bit. As you may remember, upon entering the U.S., Royal wasn't allowed to work until he received a work permit -- that ended up being almost six months. We knew about this beforehand, so that plus a few other similar things kept us from purchasing a home right away.

So we began the process of saving money for a down payment on a house of our very own. A couple months ago, we reached our goal! We'd been keeping an eye on the market for some time and even attended some open houses to get a better idea of what to expect. It's the first house purchasing experience for both of us.

We contacted a local realtor, Nessa - she sold my parents their house 16 years ago! - and described what we were looking for: a brick 3 bedroom, 2 bath, with a garage and fenced back yard (if possible.). She gave us about 20 sheets with houses & info and told us to put them in the order we wanted to see them. It was... a long process! But we finally picked our top fifteen and went from there. Our #1 choice was far and away our favorite! No other was even close.

We met up with Nessa for our very first house viewing aaannnnddd... our top choice was in negotiations with another buyer! I was disappointed, but Royal was crushed. Even without seeing the inside, I think he'd already moved in! We went on to look at 10 houses and all of them were far from what we were looking for. I mean really, if you're trying to sell your house at least move the huge reptile terrariums - yes, plural - out first! Luckily, everyone had told us not to get discouraged our first time out so we were prepared for the wave of emotions: the freak-out and then minor depression.

Nessa widened the search and we made another house hunting appointment. When she handed us our 'to-do' packet on the day our top choice was first up! We were over the moon! The negotiations had fallen through and it was ours for the taking. We knew it was perfect for us the second we walked through the door. Even the darn paint colors were perfect! A gorgeous sage green in the bathrooms, a dark red in the kitchen and a lovely desert shade for the rest of the house. Two car garage in a nice neighborhood, even nice landscaping. Privacy fenced in the back on two sides and the best part --- NOTHING behind the house but trees!

After trying to take a serious look at the house, we stood in front of Nessa and my Dad with glistening, wide eyes and said we'd take it!

We've been enjoying a visit from our good friends from England, RJ & Car (husband & wife). Royal served in the Royal Marines with RJ (he is still in) and the four of us have been through weddings, kids and Afghanistan together. The first week they were here was spent seeing the local sites as they are hoping to move to The States someday.

For whatever reason I'm always out of the vehicle first and waiting for everyone else. As I'm standing there looking back at my three compadres, a car screeches right next to me and speeds off down the parking lot. I simultaneously jump and turn towards the noise. There, almost right next to me, I see a nice looking lady in her early 50s. She's yelling "They took my keys! They stole my purse!"

Always after reading the news reports, I dread the next time I speak to my husband, wondering if he'll have known the most recent fallen hero. It will not have been the first time. Even if he doesn't, it's difficult to see the pained look on his face. The pained look mixed with a deep yearning to have been there.

And so we'll drink another toast to the fallen. May they rest in peace.

So... yeah. I haven't really read anything unrelated to college work since January (ish). Which is disappointing because I read 20 books in 2009 and wanted to double that in 2010! Going to school and working full time just got out of control, reading for fun was not an option if I wanted to make straight 'A's and remain alert at work (both of which I accomplished, so fair trade!).

Well, my summer semester ended this week and I'm taking a break until the Fall! No reading to report just yet, but here's my list:

Yeah. Again. In case you don't know, the 'conmando' (aka Graham Eckerman, or Liam Kissane) is a bastard (nicest word I can think of to describe him) that cons people out of money
by pretending to be a Royal Marine Commando - or in this most recent case, Royal Army. For example, he tells people he's collecting money for the military charity organization Help for Heroes.

His most recent scam was foiled when an older gentleman, Ian Smith, noticed that the boots he was wearing were not regulation forces issue and alerted the police. Seriously, Mr. Smith deserves a hug. Full article here.

This guy is scum. The worst of the worst. He actually led people to believe that he had won the Victoria Cross. Sick. Eckerman/Kissane is now in custody and will be sentenced next month. Thank God.

Ian Smith, the pensioner that caught Eckerman, said after the trial,"No sentence would have been enough for him. People in Ashton under Lyne, and lads wearing the genuine Queen's uniform would all have wanted to see him put away for longer."